Hafiz Saeed's Jamat-ud-Dawa, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation Banned in Pakistan Days After Pulwama Attack
Hafiz Saeed is the co-founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for 26/11 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed.
Islamabad, February 21: In the wake of mounting international pressure to act against terrorists following Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan has imposed a ban on two outfits of UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed. Pakistan has banned Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. Saeed is the co-founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for 26/11 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed.
An ordinance was promulgated by former Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain amending the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. Under the ordinance, JuD and FIF were blacklisted for being on the watch list of the UN Security Council. However, the ordinance had lapsed in 2018 and was not extended by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Imran Khan Asks Pakistan Army to 'Respond Decisively' to Any Indian Aggression.
Pakistan's Interior Ministry on Thursday issued a press release announcing a ban on JuD and FIF. "The National Security Committee in its meeting held today at Prime Minister Office reviewed the National Action Plan in detail. It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations. It was further decided that Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation be notified as proscribed organisations," the ministry said.
India has been pushing Pakistan to bring to justice the planners of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The development comes days after the Pulwama attack on February 14 when an explosives-packed SUV rammed into a bus of a Central Reserve Police Force convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway killing 40 paramilitary troopers on the spot in the worst-ever terror attack in the state since militancy struck there in 1989.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2019 08:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).